Poetry: The Class of 2013

First two members of Randolph County Poetry Hall of Fame to be inducted at final Poetry and Punch meeting Thursday

Drew Van DykeMMI Editor

Then the old poetsshall sine die. "Thank you," they telltheir alpha, lost friend.

"This will be the very last meeting for Poetry and Punch," said Carl Gordy.

He is talking about an event this coming Thursday night (July 11), at Felicia's Restaurant in town, starting at 7 p.m.

"We will retire Poetry and Punch that night, and Poetry of America will continue going forward."

Poetry and Punch started in 2002 -- the brainchild of Beverly Holder, a then-employee with Moberly's Little Dixie Regional Library.

"I was in the job of programming for young adults and adults," Holder said. "I remember, it just occurred to me that I didn't know of any poetry outlets in Moberly, certainly, or Randolph County.

"I don't write poetry -- I appreciate and enjoy poetry. But I felt there was a need — I knew there was poetry in this county — so I thought, 'Let's get started with this, and see where it takes me.'"

For 11 years, that little idea took she and several other localites at the LDRL to read their personal poetry, and to host discussions on the topic of poetry and its meaning and importance to them. Along the way, the group picked up Gordy -- a former Huntsville mayor who had written poetry for years, but hadn't a medium through which to share it. Poetry and Punch gave him that place of like-minded solitude -- a brotherhood. They made him into "The Poet," as he is now referred, he said.

"[Poetry and Punch] was the longest-running, and probably had the most attention, of any of the programs I ever planned," Holder said.

* * *

Edonna White was another of those who was provided a refuge through Poetry and Punch.

"Edonna had so many poems," Gordy said. "The lady had written well over 1,000 poems. She was one of the mainstays of Poetry and Punch, back when it got started. Very good religious writer. She could sit down and write a poem just like that when you were sitting there talking."

"And she would," Holder confirmed. "During church. Even during Poetry and Punch. It didn't matter."

Holder recalled an instance when she needed White to write her a poem for the Railroad Follies at the last minute.

"[Edonna] was on her way out on a Saturday morning to the Amish shops. She did that about every Saturday morning. We lived right there, pretty much, and I knew she'd be passing the house. I had asked her, like, maybe the day before, explaining what I needed, and I said 'I know poetry just has to come to you, so don't feel badly if you can't come up with something.'

"She did it. What she [did] was turn off south 63 onto NN, and right there, she stopped. She pulled over on NN, and she composed. Just scratchy stuff. Then, she stopped by my house and she said 'Okay, what do you think of this?'"

"She would listen and think so deeply, and so compassionately about all others, and I think she just kind of said to herself 'Lord, if it be thy will, please help me to write a poem for Beverly.' And she did. She had it. In those three miles, she had that poem."

White would also bake and decorate for the Poetry and Punch meetings -- she was a constant figure in the organization.

On June 4, 2011, at the age of 57, White died in her home, following a battle with cancer.

"She's so special to all of us," Gordy said. "That's one of the reasons we're inducting Edonna in."

* * *

By "inducting her in," Gordy means into the Randolph County Poetry Hall of Fame -- the very first class for such. Thursday's final meeting of Poetry and Punch will also be the first official induction ceremony into the Hall, which Gordy is leading the charge for.

"I've never known any other to be in Randolph County," Gordy said, of the Hall. "It was just something that I thought we needed, because we need to recognize the poets, and the people who work behind the scenes [in our area]. These people work hard. A poet is a storyteller. But you have to have somebody back here that's willing to sacrifice time and everything to keep you going."

And for that reason, Holder will also be inducted into the Hall of Fame on Thursday night -- just prior to White, who she will then instate.

"I'm rather overwhelmed," Holder said, of discovering her upcoming induction. She called it "quite a bit of an honor."

"The first thing we're going to do, we're going to honor Beverly for her many years of Poetry and Punch," Gordy said. "I will read something. Hopefully, the mayor of Moberly will be there, and State Representative Tim Remole. I can't promise, but you know how that goes.

"The next thing on the ceremony: I will induct Beverly into the very first Randolph County Poetry Hall of Fame, which will be set up at Felicia's Restaurant, in the hallway, as you walk in. I will induct her. Then, she will come up, and she will induct Edonna."

"And I think we'll just have good poetry for the rest of the evening, as long as people will stay," Holder said. "We've been inviting the Poetry and Punch people to come out, because with how informal it is, it's kind of like a reunion."

* * *

Gordy said that he will be serving as the president of the Hall. Duane Buckner, of Felicia's, is vice president. Rachael Grime, of the LDRL, will be treasurer. The MMI's Drew Van Dyke is secretary, and Karen Hayden, director of the LDRL, is the Hall's additional board member.

"We're all serving two-year terms," he explained. "When that two-year term is up, the president goes down to be alternate board member, and everybody else moves one position up. Every year, we will take nominations for the Hall of Fame."

Nominations can come from "anybody who sends them to us," he said.

"The board will meet, plus the first inductee (Holder)," Gordy noted. "She has a vote, too. If we all agree, then we will induct that person into the Hall of Fame. If we don't, we go on to the next year. We don't have to name someone out of the blue, just so we can have it on the wall.

"Are you a poet? Are the you the person who stood back there and did all of this? If we feel like you deserve that honor, we're going to induct you into that Hall of Fame.

"My main purpose is to honor someone while they're still alive," Gordy said. "I feel like if you're going to honor somebody, let them get the honor -- the appreciation you show for them."

Both wish they had been able to provide that honor to White during her lifetime.

* * *

All are invited to attend Thursday night's event. Cake and refreshments, on top of the Felicia's Restaurant menu, will be available to those present. Poetry readings will follow the induction ceremonies, marketed as the "final meeting of the Poetry and Punch" group. Anyone is invited to bring poetry to read to the group.

This is not the end, though. With the close of Holder's organization, Gordy is picking up with a poetry organization of his own for the city, county, and beyond -- the prior-covered Poetry of America, which Holder said she whole-heartedly backs. The group meets every third Thursday of the month, at 7 p.m., at Felicia's.

"I loved the idea of the transition from Poetry and Punch to Poetry of America," Holder said. "It's just right. It feels right.

"Sometimes, something like this has to die, or pretty well go down, in order to resurrect. I think that's what we're seeing now. We're resurrecting with this new idea.